"The Gift of Christmas-Herod's Response"
Rev. Ann Beaty
Tarrytown United Methodist Church

December 30, 2001

Matthew 2:13-23

As we move past Advent and into the Sundays of the Christmas season, we are introduced to another character in the Christmas story: Herod. I'm never very anxious to move on to this part of the story. I would much rather stay back in the passages about Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, the angel, the star, the wise men--they all have a nice role in the Christmas story, but not Herod.
As Matthew tells the story, Herod used the wise men to locate the Holy family so that he might harm the newborn Jesus. The wise men were warned in a dream not to return to Herod and they left for their own country by another road. When they didn't return to Herod as planned, he became enraged, killing 30 or so innocent children in Bethlehem.
It's easy to want to push Herod away and sit back and bask in the glory of the birth of Jesus with the shepherds and the angels, but Christmas Day has come and gone and like the characters in the story, we, too, must leave the stable in Bethlehem and face the world outside.
We too must leave the glow of the warm candle light on Christmas Eve and return to our lives and our world. As with all the other characters in the Christmas narrative, it seems to me that we have something to learn from Herod and his role in the story.
It was around 40 b.c. when the Roman Senate appointed Herod King of the Jews. His reign was marked by his total loyalty to Rome, his grandiose building programs, his family strife, and his harsh treatment of anyone who opposed him.
He had times of prosperity--building grand temples, elaborate palaces and protective fortresses. He also had times of difficulty with wars and aggressive enemies to conquer. Herod was not known for his easy-going personality. He was dictatorial and abrasive.
The fortresses he built served as prisons and places of execution for anyone he perceived to be a threat. He even killed his mother, his wife, and three of his sons. Herod was a strong man--strong in stature and strong in his ability to protect himself and get anything he wanted.
So, it was no secret that Herod would defend his throne against any threat, regardless of who could get hurt in the process.
The wise men from our story were in Herod's territory. They had been wandering through the country asking questions about where to find this baby who was born to be "King of the Jews". There had been talk for some time about the coming of the Messiah and the establishment of a new regime for the people.
Herod wasn't naive. He knew what was going on. He kept his ears and eyes open for potential threat around every corner. He was fearful that this baby posed a threat to his authority as the king and thus had a keen interest in finding him and stopping him.
We can see why Herod was upset by the news of this baby. He had known nothing in his life but power over and destruction of anyone who he perceived to be a threat to his position of authority. He knew nothing but how to protect himself and his posessions.
So, it's pretty easy to understand why Herod would cling to his position. It was all in the world he had and he was desperately afraid of losing it. Herod was an old man by this time. He was afraid that if this baby king lived he would lose all he had worked so hard to get.
Because Herod knew how to play the power game there was no question in his mind about what needed to be done. He had to find this newborn baby and get rid of him, like he did with everyone and everything that threatened his throne.
Herod may have appeared strong, but he was scared to death--scared of losing all he had. And as you and I know, there are times, in extreme circumstances, when the fear of losing one's power and the fear of not being in control can make one crazy and out of control. This happened to Herod. In his need to hold on so tightly to his kingdom he missed the point altogether of this baby king.
Because Herod was so involved in protecting his self-made kingdom, he couldn't see that no matter how much destruction he heaped on the people of Bethlehem or anywhere else, EVEN he couldn't stop this baby from coming and being the love of God incarnate in the world.
Even Herod couldn't prevent God's love from coming into the world in this baby and spilling over into the lives of his mother and father, the shepherds, the wise men, the prophets and disciples to come, and on down through the ages to us. Even Herod couldn't prevent God's reign of goodness and mercy from coming to a people who were hurting and longing for a Saviour.
This is the good news that we celebrate in the Christmas sesason! It is this good news that we prepare for in the Advent season as our Scriptures and Hymns call us from themes of despair to hope and alienation to reconciliation.
It is this good news that we celebrate on Christmas Eve when we light our candles and watch the dark sanctuary grow in light as each face is lit by the glow of the candles. There is nothing that Herod, or Bin Laden, or any terrorist, or you or I can do to stop the growing light of God's love from shining in our lives and in our world.
Just because Christmas has come again doesn't mean that there aren't evil forces in the world who through their fear and desire for power won't try to stop God's love from coming...just like Herod tried to stop it by killing all those innocent babies in Bethlehem. There was nothing that Her od could do (or any of us can do) to go back to the time before the light. The light has come and we can't help but be changed by it.
This is a really small and undramatic example, but it's not unlike what happened to me in high school with geometry. Math was difficult for me. The more complicated the Math became, the more I thought I was terrible. The more I thought I was terrible, the harder the Math got. The harder the Math got, the worse I did. The worse I did, the more I tried to deny it by avoiding Math at all costs.
Well, it came to a head in my 10th grade geometry class. I just didn't get geometry. I would work and study and stay after school to meet with the teacher, but I just couldn't get it. She kept saying, "one of these days the light bulb will come on and this will make sense," but I didn't believe it.
Well, one day it did...I still remember it when I had been working and working and I looked down at that triangle drawn on my piece of paper and all of a sudden the angles and the numbers made sense. All of a sudden the light bulb of understanding had come on. I could do it...I knew I could do it...and I even went on to help somebody else who was struggling with geometry.
I'd like to report that I became a stellar Math student at that point, but the reality is I barely passed. Once that light of understanding came on, I couldn't go back, and wouldn't want to go back, to the dark world of not knowing. Once that light of understanding began to shine I saw Math and myself differently.
The good news is that the light shines in the darkness and God's love does come and fills our lives and our world with hope and healing and love and peace AND we know that evil won't win.
We've all seen it these past 3 months...There are so many ways the light of God's love has been shining in our lives and in our world. The many rescue workers who risked their lives to save those trapped in fallen and burning buildings.
The family of children who gave up their vacation money and donated it to the victims of the World Trade Center bombing. Spouses and family members of those who died; many whose names and stories we will never know; who have grieved openly and publicly and have adamently opposed hate and fear as a response to this act.
We've seen a renewed sense in the value of community and a commitment to working together in healing and hope in our diverse religious traditions and expressions.
I see it closer to home as I watch many of you serve in our church and communiy. I see you offer light in the darkness to those who are dealing with illness, death, or loss.
I see light shining in the darkness as I watch you reach out to those with AIDS, serve as a mentor in the schools or teach our children and youth about God's love at work in their lives.
I see God's light of hope and love as you serve on boards of non-profit agencies in Austin that work to better the lives of those in need. You do those things because the light has come to you and it can't help but shine out of you as you reach to a hurting world.
This message of God's light coming to shine in the darkness was needed 2000 years ago when that tiny baby was born into a world of poverty and fear and destruction. It is a message we still need today.
Fortunately, Christmas happens year after year after year. It's not a once in a lifetime chance. God's grace comes to us over and over again and we have opportunity after opportunity to accept this incredible, mysterious, wonderful gift and share that light of God's love with others.
When we live with the light of Christ at the center of our living, we know we are not placed in this world to control. We know we are placed in this world to love and to be loved.
When we live with the light of Christ at the center of our living, we recognize that those longings at the core of our being aren't for power and control and authority over others. We know that our deepest longings aren't for possessions, or position, or appearances.
When we live with the light of Christ at the center of our living, we know that our deepest longing is to be loved, to be known as a person of worth, to discover our life and it's goodness in the world--that is what Christ came to give us.
When we are able to live with Christ at the center of all that we are, then we can experience abundant, full life as God wants us to have it and share that life with others.
What does it mean to live this way? To some extent, the specifics will be different for each one of us. I do know it means offering our excess baggage (our worries and fears, our insecurities and our angers) to God and allowing God to carry our burdens with us.
It means looking at our priorities to see what is important to us and considering where we spend our money and our time. It means listening to those persons around us who love us so that we will hear the ways we are people of worth and we will know that our life means something.
It means accepting our God-given gifts for listening or talking or serving or whatever they are and using them to enhance and lift up others.
It means being in prayer, putting ourselves in the glow of God's loving light and asking God to guide and lead us.

Some years ago I received a Christmas card with these words and I recently ran across it again:

"When God wants something great done in this world,
God doesn't dispatch a legion of avenging angels;
or call forth a whirlwind, nor ignite the fuse of volcanic fireworks.

There is no commandeering of troops into battle nor discharging zealous crusaders to holy causes.
God does not orchestrate the burst and boom of thunder nor display fiery arrows majesty across the sky to bring God's purpose to pass.

When God wants something great done in this world,
God sends a baby and then . . .waits."

God's love has come again and God is waiting...actively waiting for us to respond and carry the light into and through the darkness. The baby has been born. The shepherds, the wise men and the angels have all gone home. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus have left Bethlehem and gone out into the world filled with God's love and able to face whatever will come.
But the gift has arrived again in this Christmas season. In the words of the creed, "God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God".

Let us pray. . . . Gracious God, in this Christmas season may we be reminded of our need for your love. Open our hearts in a way that we might receive the gift fresh in this new year. Amen.